Slavery in Mauritania

     Chattel slavery, in which one person is owned as another's property, has existed in the West African country of Mauritania for 800 years. The ruling class is known as the bidanes (translated as white-skinned people) who are descendants of the Sanhaja Berbers and Beni Hassan Arab tribes who emigrated to Western Africa during the Middle Ages. They are the masters of the haratines, the black slave caste that makes up roughly 20% of the population (up to 600,000 men, women and children). The form of slavery that exists in Mauritania is called hereditary slavery, which means that a child who is born to a mother who is a slave inherits her status and serves the same family she does. It's because of this practice that the bidanes no longer need to hunt for slaves as many haratines serve the same family for generations.

     The work that the slaves perform varies on the location of the family they serve. For example in the countryside slaves are agricultural labourers; while in the city they may work as servants or builders. The slaves live in constant terror of beatings and torture if they do not meet the expectations of their masters. There have been reports of insects being stuffed inside slaves' ears and slaves being ripped apart. Women often serve as concubines, raped by members of their master's family. Slaves have no rights in Mauritania and although slavery is officially illegal in the county they are often punished in courts and jailed for weeks or months. The courts have no jury and are presided over a judge who owns slaves himself. Once in jail the slave is broken through daily beatings.

The vast Saharan nation didn't make slavery a crime until 2007 (CNN).

     Complicating the issue is the slave culture that the bidanes have created in the country. The bidanes require no chains to keep the haratines in their service because there are no other options for the slaves. Any work that needs to be done is already being performed by slaves and the only option for a lot of the haratines is a life on the streets, which can be as cruel as a life of slavery. More alarming is the fact that the majority of haratines would never consider leaving because the ideology of slavery is accepted by both masters and slaves. As the slaves are denied an education and trapped within Mauritania's pervasive racism and poverty, they can hardly dream of freedom and rarely experience it.

Mauritanian society is built on the existence of slavery and relies on it to function (CNN).

     Religion also works to keep the slaves bound to the masters as they are raised to believe that if they do not obey their masters they will not go to paradise. This is a belief that is reinforced by the social and religious system in the country. Mauritanian anti-slavery leader Abdel Nasser Ould Yessa describes the situation that the haratines face in the bidanes' society (full interview here):

In society, a slave needs a master to protect him or her: to bring them to the hospital, to bring kids to school, to represent them in court. Slaves need a protector or an intermediary to get by in Mauritanian society. The bidanes run the government, the military, the courts, the schools. Slaves cannot revolt because they would loose everything. They can only hope for justice and legal protection if they have a master.

     The practice of slavery in Mauritania has been banned by the national government on three separate occasions (1905, 1981 and 2007), an action which has done little to change the way that the country operates (only one slave owner has been prosecuted). The past five years has seen little in the way of sentencing for those who continue to enslave the haratines as the government continues to deny the existence of slavery in the country. There are a number of Mauritanian organizations speaking out against slavery, often at the risk of their own safety and freedom. They include El Hor (translated as "free man"), In'itaq (translated as "emancipation") and SOS Enclaves.

Activists are arrested for fighting the practice of slavery while the government denies it exists (CNN).

     The actions of the Mauritania government has not gone unnoticed by the international community as many journalists, news organizations, government officials and individuals have taken notice of the injustice that continues to exist in the country. The United Nations sent UN Special Rapporteur and mission leader Gulnara Shahinian to Mauritania in 2009 to evaluate the slavery practices in the country. The report from that mission can be found here. CNN is also helping to raise awareness of modern day slavery in their series entitled the Freedom Project.

     If you want to find out more about slavery in Mauritania and learn how you can help click the Freedom Project link in the previous sentence or visit the Anti Slavery Fundraising site here. CNN has also provided an exceptional outline of the situation in Mauritania here. There are also a number of bloggers who have used their platform to spread awareness of the issue as well. Examples of this can be found here and here. It's important to educate yourself on how you can help those in Mauritania because without the voice the of the international community there is no hope for freedom for the men, women and children who continue to suffer and die.

     UPDATE: I would be remiss if I didn't pass along this story that was sent to me by the dedicated individuals at Movement for Justice and Equality in Mauritania (@mjem1). The story is about a young man who escaped his captors after being held in slavery for nine years and how the haratines united together against his kidnappers when they tried to steal him back by saying they were his family. For the complete details click here. Be sure to follow their blog and twitter for more information about slavery in Mauritania.